Comic 558 - Tangled Up In Blue, Page 20

Author Notes:

Hm. Bit worried about this looking back; had a precise idea in mind for this when writing it but not sure if it conveyed well enough. There's this feeling when you see someone across the room that can cheer you up; even if you can't talk at the moment, just exchanging looks can really improve your mood. I think that's what Grant and Nicky feel seeing Jake here.

I think in some ways this is also something Jake does with the kids. Even when he's distant he's always there, in the next room, within screaming distance if they need him. Grant and Nicky obviously aren't feeling great right now but Jake can perk them up just reminding them that he's around.

To that end I kinda like that the discussion between their parents isn't even that important in this comic. It's there and helps informs us of what they're like in various ways but the focus is just on Jake and the kids, which requires no dialog at all.

And yeah, still really don't get why I wrote in that thing about Nicky being afraid of Grant when they first met. I only bring it up to make fun of it.

I remember the original idea on Grant was that people saw him as kind of an aloof loner and thought he was cool because he could fly, until they just learned he's a shy geek, but the comic never really wound up actually getting the chance to go that way, and really with some of the details we've since gotten about the school at its opening there really isn't room for that to have ever been the case in-story. The Nicky thing makes more sense in regards to that.

On the subject of Grant, hey, there's his mom, opted to visit this time! As you can see, her not looking particularly cheerful on the cover of Blue Bloodlines was entirely intentional, though while rude I don't really think she's in the wrong frame of mind on this particular issue. Either way, we'll probably get more into her down the line, though I don't know if she'll be in this chapter further or not.